We're Not Funny

Is Texas the unfunniest place in America?

Well this isn't very funny. Researchers at the University of Colorado's Humor Research Lab analyzed the 50 biggest cities in the United States to determine where the funniest — and least funny — people live. Let's just say Texas wasn't in on the joke.

Though Austin ranked a very respectable No. 14 (we are, after all, the home to Moontower Comedy & Oddity Festival), the rest of the big cities in Texas fell in the bottom half of the list. In fact, of the top 10 least funny cities, four are in Texas, including the No. 1 least funny city in America: Fort Worth. Also in the top 10 are San Antonio at No. 4, Arlington at No. 5 and El Paso at No. 10.

Researchers at Humor Research Lab (it's a real thing), created the Humor Algorithm (with the appropriate acronym "HA") to determine where the funny folks live. Over a nine-month period, analysts researched the 50 largest cities and analyzed factors like number of comedy clubs per square mile, visits by residents to humor websites, percentage of native-born comedians, the number of comedy radio stations and audience ratings from traveling comedians.

But it wasn't just numbers that determined where cities ranked, input from local residents was also included. “A city’s humor score isn’t just a measure of historic reputation or big-name productions,” said research associate Adrian Ward. “A city’s sense of humor is a living, breathing thing, created by everything from coffee shop conversations to Web videos shared between friends to the laughter that erupts at comedy clubs.”

So what is the No.1 funniest city in America? That would be Chicago. Rounding out the top three are Boston and Atlanta.

Also in the top ten: Washington, DC at No. 4; Portland, Oregon at No. 5; New York City at No. 6; Los Angeles at No. 7; Denver at No. 8; San Francisco at No. 9 and Seattle closes out the top cities at No. 10.

unspecified

keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

There are plenty of places for Austinites of varying abilities to be active.

The city's abundance of yoga studios, health-conscious restaurants, and run clubs is paying off: Austin was just named the second healthiest city in the nation in a new study by Forbes Advisor.

The report, "Cities With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, Ranked" examined 2021 health data from the City Health Dashboard for 46 of the most populated cities in America. Eight metrics were analyzed for each city, such as the number of heart disease or opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, the percentage of adults with diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.

The study focuses exclusively on physical health, and leans on broad risk factors more than the actual occurrence of specific diseases or conditions.

Austin ranked second to San Jose, California, which was dubbed the No. 1 healthiest city in America.

Forbes found that Austin has the lowest percentage of adult high blood pressure out of all 46 cities in the report, at just 22.5 percent. Only 7.4 percent of Austin residents have diabetes, which is the fourth-lowest rate nationwide. The city also boasts the fifth-lowest percentage of adults who smoke (11.3 percent).

Here's how the report ranked four other metrics for Austin:

Eighth-lowest number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 residents (175.5)
Eighth-lowest number of opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents (9.6)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report having obesity (28.2 percent)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report being physically inactive (18.5)

Austin has a reputation for being an accommodating city, whether it's through restaurants expanding their culinary offerings for vegans and vegetarians, or through local organizations adding exercise equipment to outdoor trails. And you can't forget about all the new gyms and country clubs opening around the city.

At the opposite end of the study, Detroit, Michigan landed as the most unhealthy city in the country.

Elsewhere in Texas
Though Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the U.S., and the healthiest in the state, several other Texas cities fell far behind. Houston appeared as the No. 12 most unhealthy American city on the list, and unhealthiest in Texas. The report attributes this to a high percentage of adults who report binge drinking (18.2 percent), smoking (17.2 percent), and more.

"Houston has the seventh-highest percentage of adults who report having obesity (37.7 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage of adults with diabetes (12 percent)," the report said.

San Antonio ranked as the 15th unhealthiest U.S. city, followed by Dallas (No. 18), El Paso (No. 22) and Fort Worth (No. 25). Arlington appeared as No. 30, technically making it the No. 18 healthiest city in the U.S.

The top 10 cities with the most healthy populations are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Austin, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Minneapolis

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

austin healthy reports rankings